- The zinnia bed covered in old zinnia stocks did well. Just a few weeds, but overall the soil is in place and in excellent shape. The left over seeds were enjoyed by the over-wintering birds, as well.

- The beds covered in black plastic are in great shape, although the soil was more compacted and reduced. In any case, the soil is like black chocolate cake: moist, crumbly and deliciously perfect for planting new spring plants.

- The beds covered in weed barrier did not fare well. The barriers were not anchored well enough and simply blew away. Those beds are covered in weeds. Argh! (See previous post on October 25, 2015)

Spring plantings are well underway. I've planted red, romaine and bibb lettuces and parsley plants and pea seeds and mounded starter potatoes. I threw in a tomato and some eggplant just for fun, but it's been too cool for them to make much progress.